Bibliometric analysis of literature in AIDS-related stigma and discrimination

Stigma and discrimination are major barriers in the global fight against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The aim of this study was to create an analytical inventory of worldwide research output in AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. SciVerse Scopus was used for the study period from 1980 to 2017 to retrieve literature in AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. Results were presented as bibliometric tables and maps. In total, 2,509 documents were retrieved. Approximately 40% (n = 990) of the retrieved documents were published in the last 5 years (2013-2017). Retrieved documents received an average of 19.8 citations per article and had an average of 3.2 authors per article. The Hirsh index of the retrieved documents was 94. Most frequently encountered topics were mental health, adherence, adolescents, women, disclosure, and Africa. The USA contributed to 1,226 (48.9%) documents while the African region contributed to 531 (21.2%) documents. Research collaboration among most active countries was relatively low. Authors and institutions from the USA dominated this field. AIDS Care was the most active journal in publishing documents in this field with 307 (13.4%) documents while documents published in Social Medicine journal received the highest citations. Research in AIDS-related stigma and discrimination had witnessed a noticeable increase in the past decade, but the overall number of publications is considered insignificant relative to the size of the problem and the global number of infected people. There was a relative underpresentation of literature from African region despite the fact that more than two-thirds of HIV-infected people in the world are living in Africa.